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Life  By  cover art

Life

By: Keith Richards,James Fox
Narrated by: Johnny Depp,Joe Hurley
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Publisher's summary

The long-awaited autobiography of Keith Richards, guitarist, songwriter, singer, and founding member of the Rolling Stones.

With The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the songs that roused the world, and he lived the original rock and roll life. Now, at last, the man himself tells his story of life in the crossfire hurricane. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones's first fame and the notorious drug busts that led to his enduring image as an outlaw folk hero. Creating immortal riffs like the ones in "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Honky Tonk Women." His relationship with Anita Pallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of the U.S., isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen. Estrangement from Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Marriage, family, solo albums and Xpensive Winos, and the road that goes on forever.

With his trademark disarming honesty, Keith Richard brings us the story of a life we have all longed to know more of, unfettered, fearless, and true.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2010 Keith Richards (P)2010 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"[A] high-def, high-velocity portrait of the era when rock 'n' roll came of age, a raw report from deep inside the counterculture maelstrom of how that music swept like a tsunami over Britain and the United States....Mr. Richards has found a way to channel to the reader his own avidity, his own deep soul hunger for music and to make us feel the connections that bind one generation of musicians to another. Along the way he even manages to communicate something of that magic, electromagnetic experience of playing on stage with his mates, be it in a little club or a huge stadium." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

"[A] slurry romp through the life of a man who knew every pleasure, denied himself nothing, and never paid the price." (David Remnick, The New Yorker)

"A vivid self-portrait and, of the Stones and their musical era, a grand group portrait....spellbinding storytelling." (Richard Corliss, Time)

Featured Article: Tune In to Our Favorite Music Memoirs


We’ve been finding solace in stories that follow our other favorite thing to listen to: music. We’ve gathered a selection of pitch-perfect memoirs from music legends in a variety of genres and styles. By turns bold, brash, and moving, these listens shed light on the sold-out shows, backstage drama, and sometimes dark underbelly of the recording industry, while highlighting the charisma, energy, and artistry that had us hooked from the first soundwave.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Ins and outs

To be put off by Johnny Depp's great intro or disappointed by Joe Hurley's almost perfect rendition of Keith Richard's voice is quite simply a linear reaction to a sea-full of Keith's unfiltered and lively experiences through the backdrop of the Rolling Stone's birth and growth.These guys lived and breathed that music which shaped our lives everyday during that period of time we were growing up.

If you were born between 1945 and 1955, then you will want to listen to this book so that you can come to terms with the tapestry of your life where all this music still exits and comes back as you hear Keith Richards explain where, when, and more importantly, WHY he created all those great songs.

Here's what you do : As you listen to the book,and begin the journey, every time a new song is mentioned, stop the book, go over to Youtube and listen to it done live by the Stones, then come back to the book. It will parallel your life and peg where you were at the time. Lots of fun and if music has always played an important part of your life, Keith's and Mick's songs will be inextricable adhered to the inside of your skull. It's in the total sum of who we are, right?

This book is a candid view into what propelled the greatest rock and roll band through the 60's, the 70's and some of the 80's and how the Rolling Stones are in part, responsible for the voice of rebellion, the cause for change and defined the freedom that we all yearned for or experienced during those tumultuous times. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's because I've been a blues guitarist since 1960, but I would not want to imagine a world without this music in it. I mean, who wants to live without rock and roll, man?
This is not a book, this is a rock and roll history lesson.

If every time you hear "Satisfaction" you get that tingle inside of you that puts you back to that night, that party, that girl or guy, that vacation, that point that was DEFINED by this song, you're gonna want to listen to this book.

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173 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Storytelling!

I originally planned to buy the hardcover the moment it hit stores - I'm a huge Stones fan. But I am really glad I heard about the audiobook, because Keith's storytelling really lends itself to the listenting experience. I'm only 4 hours in, but Johnny Depp's performance is pitch-perfect. He's never over the top - you feel like he really "gets" Keith in ways most people wouldn't. I also took a listen to Keith's part at the end and could really hear how passionate he is about telling his story - what an amazing life.

I'm absolutely certain I'll buy the hardcover to make my library complete, but I'm so glad I took the chance to hear it first. I think the amazing tales are going to stick with me a long time - what a privilege it is to get to hear the intimate, behind-the-scenes stories told by the one who really lived it. The bonus PDF of pictures is great as well - you feel like you're getting a peek into Keith's personal photo album.

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83 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

They are both geniuses, and I need a drink.

Richards. Depp. One Credit. Over 20-hours of time well spent. One of the best audiobook experiences I've ever had.

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74 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!

Keith is alot funnier than I expected. His humor is very dry and the story very detailed.

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

False Advertising

It's nice to see that now Audible has listed Joe Hurley as a second reader of this book. They didn't when I purchased the book. Be warned. The book is great. Depp is great. He disappears about four hours in and is replaced by Joe Hurley, who is absolutely abysmal. Terrible cockney accent that slips at strange places. Terrible renditions of American Southern accents. Hurley succeeds in making Richards sound like an absolute idiot. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through the book and desperately hoping that Depp comes back soon. I've had pretty close to as much Hurley as I can stomach.

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

AMAZING BOOK AND NARRATION

I have downloaded over 50 audiobooks here on audible.com and this book is the best hands down!! What an amazing life Mr. Richards has led. He pulls no punches here, spills his guts! I couldn't stop listening. Any fan of music will love this book.
The guy who wrote the review here saying the book is ruined by an American narrator has no idea what he's talking about. Half of the book is narrated by Joe Hurley who sounds just like Keith with a thick English accent and the rest is done superbly by the one and only Johnny Depp. This guy didn't even listen to the book I bet.
This book rules!! 5 stars!!!

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

What a Life

I am well into Chapter 5 of part 3 and I'm amazed. What a life. How has he lived long enough to tell this story? With his love of making music, he has overcome self-debasement and simply had to survive to tell all of this. There is candor and risk and success and error. His addictions and the tragedy of Gram Parson's are intertwined and troubling. He is accused of misogyny, but I don't hear him promising more than he gave and I'm not certain he treated anyone worse than himself. I'm glad he told it as it was instead of some tidy, self-reverential, cleaner version. Oh, and he could care less about redemption, he's been too busy living.

I was jarred and confused when the narration went from Depp to Hurley. Both are excellent, but I don't like the inconsistency of voice and if I could choose between the two, I'd choose Hurley's narration. Hurley has the growl and the grittyness and the laugh and the accent just right.

This is a book to be listened to, a tale told brilliantly in the large smoky living room of an old, musty faded-glory house, perhaps in France. Keith, thanks for letting me sit on the floor as you shared your life so far with all its wonders and warts.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Listen for yourself and see if Keef bashes Mick

I've read 2 psuedo reviews from reviewers who obviously didn't read the book and assumed Keef bashes Mick throughout. Quite the contrary, Keef is honest about Mick's shortcomings but respects and honors his Glimmer Twin as having cared for him like a brother and tended to the band business when he could not himself. Read the book yourself and be your own judge.

Curious though, why Depp reads the first few chapters of the book then is replaced by the British voiceover of Joe Hurley? Freaked me out, the change in narrator voice. Anyone know the answer?

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Read if you like Biography & Rock & Roll

I have been a fan of the Rolling Stones since I was a teenager. Mick Jagger was the one I related to because I have always been a front man, but from Keith Richard's first solo album, Talk is Cheap, forward made me take a closer look at the man behind the licks & co-writer of most of the Stones songs. Keith's solo effort surmounted all of Mick's attempts at going solo. This book "Life" is riveting and I could not stop reading (listening) - Keith is "spot on" and brutally honest as he deconstructs his life and times. I am through one-third now and like all good books I dread getting to the end. Johnny Depp who I had the pleasure of meeting when he worked with John Waters in MD, does an excellent job narrating the book – as is Joe Hurley. It takes courage to strip off the veneer and write the raw truth or at least your perspective of it. Richard's not only does this but he makes it interesting, because he is part of Rock & Roll history. The Stones songs spoke for a generation that was looking for a voice. Richard's not only relates the inside story of the Stones& of the Rhythm and Blue's legends he has encountered. I have seen the Stones on tour throughout the years beginning with the "Tattoo You" tour, but it was the “Some Girls” Album that I could not put away — my friends and I would have parties and lip synch "Shattered" and "Miss you" and other tunes. I think Hot Rock's was the first 8-track tape I bought — and I could not get enough of "Sympathy for the Devil". Before going to my first Stones Concert, I had a dream that I met the band backstage — they were at the base of a scissor like device, that was a platform and I got on board with them and we went up into the back stage area air, when I went to the show at the Capital Center, Jagger came right over me in a Cherry Picker, singing "Satisfaction". This book is a backstage pass that takes you into the heart of the Stones - enjoy. Now all I have to do is meet Richard's & Jagger. Mike Dupuy Falconry

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

So glad I stayed with this book

I absolutely loved this book, and was sad to say goodbye to Keith. He reveals himself, despite all the flaws, to be a really nice man, very generous with praise for fellow musicians and others who populated his life along the way. Their is no doubt that it is his voice we hear, no matter who is narrating (though I do admit that the change of narrators did detract somewhat from my enjoyment.) In the first few hours, the amount of technical detail about music and guitar playing was hard to slog through for a non-musician, but it made me appreciate how skilled and knowledgeable he is - not just a good guitar player. Nice job, Keith. Live long and prosper.

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24 people found this helpful